Thetford Mines

A mining community in Quebec, Canada northeast of Sherbrooke. The discovery of asbestos in 1876 led to mining operations for asbestos, along with chromium and feldspar. This came along with the usual ugliness of open pit mining and the usual disasters — mine fires (ironic in an asbestos mine), poisoned tailings, etc. The city has done its best to hide the scars of the open pit mines, and fortunately the long-term effects of asbestos mining are less harmful than those of the uranium mining at Ontario's Elliot Lake.